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Former Conquistador Marlon Walls Reinstated at Tennessee

August 5. 2010

Tennessee freshman linebacker Marlon Walls, who prepped at Olive Branch High School and Hargrave Military Academy before landing in Knoxville, has been allowed to return to the team by head coach Derek Dooley.

Walls and teammate Greg King were indefinitely suspended from the Vols following a July 9 off-campus bar fight. Safety Darren Myles was permanently dismissed from the team for his role in the incident.

“It is a privilege, not a right, to be a member of the University of Tennessee football team,” said Tennessee head coach Derek Dooley. “The most important responsibility of that privilege is to properly represent this institution and our supporters on and off the field.

“I am disappointed and in many ways embarrassed by the poor judgment displayed on many fronts by several members of our football team,” he added. “I am respectful of the process that follows with the local authorities and with our institutional guidelines and leadership.”

Dooley noted that while the suspensions are not in response to any criminal charges filed against Walls or King.

“What is important is to know is that just because I suspended somebody doesn't necessarily mean they broke the law,” he observed. “It's no different than any day-to-day issue where we deal with discipline and behavioral issues.

“What I will say is that there's been a lot of positive things happen in our program in the last few months and a lot of positive changes in our culture internally with some of our players, with our team, and we're not going to let this incident ruin the positive changes that are happening,” Dooley continued. “We're going to continue to build our structures so that we educate, we discipline, we support our players and at the end of the day we're going to have a culture here that's not just going to win but our fans will be proud of how we represent them.”
The 6-2, 225-pound Walls was named the Region 1-5A Defensive MVP during his senior season at Olive Branch. Selected the 2007 Player of the Year by the Memphis Touchdown Club, Walls was chosen first team All-State and All-Region, and served as Team Mississippi captain in the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic.

During his senior season, Walls set an OBHS school record with 11 sacks. He also added 127 tackles, forced five fumbles and had three fumble recoveries.

In an interview following his reinstatement, Walls expressed regret over his lapse in judgment, and said the lowest point of the entire situation was seeing his mother cry after Dooley informed the family of the suspension.

Walls, who played linebacker and tight end in high school, is expected to see action this season on the UT defensive line.